Cuban cigars—forbidden fruit no more?

Cuban cigars have long been a forbidden fruit for American aficionados.

The embargo placed on Cuban trade in 1962 has kept the coveted handcrafted stogies off U.S. soil (legally, anyway) and out of cigar smokers' hands for more than half a century. It created smugglers out of the intrigued and a black market riddled with imitation Cubans.

President Barack Obama's announcement of the start of Cuban trade normalization yesterday had cigar lovers rejoicing at the prospect of easy access, but local cigar shops don't expect to have Cubans on their shelves anytime soon.

“Unfortunately, when it comes to Cuban cigars, there are a lot of things that need to be hashed out in the industry,” said Kevin Levi, owner of Iwan Ries & Co., a tobacco and cigar shop in the Loop. “If (Cuban trade) opened up tomorrow, I don't think we'd get our first Cuban cigar for at least a year.”

And that is being optimistic, Levi said.

EASING UP

The changes in America's relationship with Cuba are focused on normalizing relations and bringing opportunities to Cubans, Obama said in a speech yesterday. Travel restrictions will be eased, Americans will be able to use their bank cards in Cuba and high-ranking officials will work on establishing an embassy. But the Cuban embargo remains codified in legislation, and Congress must pass a law to lift it.

Once that happens, copyright issues would need to be worked out regarding cigar names, distribution issues and other obstacles that have kept tobacconists such as Levi from beginning to make concrete plans surrounding the sale of Cuban cigars.

The conversation regarding the possibility, however, has people excited.

“We're watching the situation closely,” said Mark Smith, spokesman for Commonwealth-Altadis, one of the largest premium cigarette and cigar manufacturers and distributors in the country. “Premium cigar smokers are keenly interested in this.”

Commonwealth-Altadis, based in Ft. Lauderdale, supplies cigars for local shops such as Iwan Ries and Biggs Cigar Emporium, a cigar shop and smoking lounge that opened at 1150 N. Dearborn St. on Labor Day. Commonwealth-Altadis is the American arm of U.K.-based Imperial Tobacco, which operates around the globe and already works with Cuban cigar makers.

Smith said officials at Imperial Tobacco are watching what happens with American-Cuban relations closely.

SERIOUS AFICIONADOS

Bridgette Daich, manager at Ralph's Cigars at 1032 W. Taylor St., said she expected to see die-hard enthusiasts bringing back more Cuban stogies and distributing them.

As part of the new relationship, U.S. travelers to Cuba will be able to bring up to $400 of merchandise and $100 of alcohol and tobacco products, including Cuban cigars, back to the states. Reselling those goods will remain illegal.

Daich said Ralph's has not made plans regarding the sale of Cuban cigars, either, but having tasted one herself, she says the hype is deserved.

“It was delicious,” she said. “For some reason the soil there is great for growing cigar tobacco. Cubans have this classic reputation for being this nice, dense, leathery taste—this earthy taste—but smooth, still.”

FUTURE OF FLAVOR?

Daich said she was concerned that once Cuban cigars were allowed in the U.S., that flavor profile could be compromised as Cuban cigar makers increase their productivity to meet American demands. Cuban cigars are handmade, and bringing them into America—the largest cigar market in the world, Smith said—could strain tobacco farms.

“You run into that with Dominicans,” Daich said. “Dominican is a very popular brand where the farms have been in existence for so long that the tobacco might not yield the same flavor anymore. That might be down the line (for Cubans).”

Local cigar experts agreed the Cuban cigar craze might die down once Americans have had their taste of the forbidden fruit.

“For a little while, maybe a couple years, people will want to know what's the big deal about Cuban cigars,” said Fred Latsko, a real estate investor and cigar expert who helped develop Biggs. “The novelty part will spike … (but) it will average out.”

Photo

Bloomberg photo

A box of Cuban cigars sit for sale in the store at the Partagas cigar factory stands in Havana, Cuba.